The Salvadoran Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelayamocked reports by some international media that El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) adoption plans could wreck the economy and left a $40 million hole in national finances.
The minister was speaking at a press conference, where reporters asked him about an article by the German news agency Deutsche Welle, which claimed the economy was being ‘pulled down by a tax risk of the order of 40 million dollars”.
Zelaya called this and similar articles examples of “biased” journalism, and added, according to ElSalvador.com:
“It’s a clear criticism of Bitcoin, not of El Salvador. El Salvador is what interests them the least here. (…) So when they say that the fiscal risk of El Salvador, due to the adoption of Bitcoin, is very high, that makes me laugh. And I think any serious economist would do the same, because it’s an extremely superficial analysis. And they speak out of ignorance.”
Zelaya also lashed out at critics who focused on “losses” calculated based on BTC market prices at the time of purchase and current market trends, as Bitcoin slid towards the bar. of $20,000.
The finance chief said that even if the “losses” amounted to $40 million, it would be a drop in the ocean compared to the sums that former Salvadoran presidents Mauricio Funes and Antonio Saca diverted from the national economy.
He said the risks of investing in BTC were “extremely minimal,” and added:
“Bitcoin losses are said to be up to $40 million, but how much did Funes steal? $351 million. How much did former President Saca steal? $300 million.”
He also pointed to the alleged “USD 500 million” financial irregularities surrounding the El Chaparral hydroelectric power plant project, saying that the “experts” did not choose to identify this project “as a financial risk.”
Bitcoin is currently trading around USD 20,500. It is down 9% in one day and 31% in one week.
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